


Celebration Blues

by iya_teiva



Category: Tales of Xillia
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Post-Tales of Xillia, Tales of Femslash Week 2020, agria is in therapy yay
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-22
Updated: 2020-07-22
Packaged: 2021-03-05 00:09:12
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25435177
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iya_teiva/pseuds/iya_teiva
Summary: A lot of preparation and activity is bustling around the Rolandos' inn, getting ready for a fun celebration. But the exciting occasion puts a bit of a damper on a certain someone's mood. (For Tales of Femslash Week 2020, Day 3: Petunias/Resentment)
Relationships: Agria/Leia Rolando
Comments: 8
Kudos: 6
Collections: Tales of Femslash Week 2020





	Celebration Blues

**Author's Note:**

> I actually finished this in time this year! (Looks at my fanfic for 2019's Femslash week, perpetually unfinished).
> 
> It's been a while since I Xillia'd so hopefully no one is wildly out of character. If they are I hope you will find it in your kind soul to forgive me and enjoy anyway~

“Agria, come help!”

The cooing of a sylphjay being doted on and the high-pitched, loving chatter of the girl doting on him were interrupted abruptly by that loud voice, as well as the crash of a door opened much too quickly against the wall. The bird, which had previously been munching away happily at the seeds in the palm of his owner’s hand, startled and flew back into his cage. This prompted a scowl from Agria in the direction of the disturbance. “Would it kill you to knock?”

“As if you ever knock, either!” The spunky brunette who had barged in now stood at the doorway, a grimace of equal annoyance plastered on her face. In her hands was a vase of petunias, various shades of pink, blue, and purple petals contrasting with the smooth white porcelain decorated only by some simplistic light gray squiggles. Leia shook her head as if trying to fling off the displeasure, her lips curling into a strained smile which did a poor job of concealing her frustration. “There’s still a lot to set up, and it seems like you’ve been hiding in here all day. So if you could please…?” Hoping not to sound too commanding, she let the sentence trail off.

Agria huffed, focusing her attention back on Bobo who was now occupied preening himself. “Why should I help?”

“If you don’t help, you can’t participate. And that’s not just my mom saying that, I mean it!” Leia’s voice wavered, not actually strict enough to convince anyone she meant it.

The white-haired girl rolled her eyes and huffed poutily again, shutting the bird cage’s door before standing up. “Who said I wanted to participate in the first place? Because I sure didn’t.” She walked right up to Leia, arms crossed, trying to intimidate her by looking straight into her eyes, despite knowing that Leia had long since stopped being phased by that.

Oddly enough, though, Leia’s gaze did dart away for a second, almost too quickly to be noticed. But the expression her face took for that split second was hurt, like she would crumple into herself. “J-just help, okay? It’s the least you can do, living here and all.”

Agria scoffed impatiently but couldn’t argue. Even as a kid she hadn’t felt very okay about living in a house where other people did everything for her. Without responding, she left the room and walked towards the inn’s lobby, the feeling of Leia’s sad eyes watching her boring into her back.

The lobby, being prepared for use as a temporary gathering space, was being decorated so brightly it almost looked like a child’s birthday party. Balloons and streamers of every color hung around all parts of the room, unusual for the space which was normally so homey and organized. Warrick was busy hanging a banner across the room with “CONGRATULATIONS LEIA!” painted on in his handwriting (which was as sloppy as his daughter’s). His back was turned to Agria as he hummed some tune loudly, so he hadn’t noticed her come in. The large table in the middle was covered in plates with all different kinds of snacks, from sugary sweet ones that Sonia would normally never allow to savory small sandwiches for the slightly more health-conscious attendees.

As Agria observed the setup, Warrick succeeded in hanging up the banner and climbed down from the step stool he was on, finally turning around to see the grumpy girl hovering nearby. “Hey, Agria! What’s up?” he asked in his cheerful voice, a bit singsongy as he eased off whatever ditty had been stuck in his head. The broad smile on his face evaporated slowly, though, as he registered something on Agria’s. “What’s wrong, kiddo?”

Jerking her head away and breaking eye contact, she ignored answering the question or retorting to it, instead mumbling “I’m going outside for a second.” Without waiting for a response, she did so, letting the door slam behind her without really thinking.

She shuffled over to the side of the inn, outside of the view of any windows or doorways, and took a deep breath in. Stuff was getting into her head too much, and it was embarrassing that it was showing. Leia’s parents were already used to her sour personality, so there was something more leaking through to get such a concerned question.

It was true, what Leia had said earlier. Agria _had_ been hiding all day. Despite the fact she had started to get help for her angry outbursts, there were days that the sadness and trauma and resentment still crept up and made her lash out. Made her unpleasant. More than usual, that is. And seeing this all, this happiness…

“What did she do to deserve this?”

The words came out under her breath, aimed at no one in particular, though she knew what the answer was. There was none. Fate and circumstance and all those things, they were cruel and the only forces to blame, uncaring about what anyone did or didn’t deserve. Things just were.

But it was a question she asked herself, too. Agria wrapped her arms around herself, not because it was particularly cold out, but trying to keep her terrible feelings inside. If she suppressed them, certainly she could just feign happiness for this one day.

She spent some time like that, huddled into her own warmth, before a familiar voice snapped her out of her ruminating. “I knew you would be around here somewhere.”

Leia.

Agria’s head snapped up, eyes widened, though as she turned to Leia, her expression unwittingly changed into her default scowl. “Come to lecture me again, I suppose?” The words spilled out without thinking, per usual.

Leia’s face, though, conveyed no intention of the sort. Her face was twisted into the same concerned countenance her dad had. Her hands were now empty, and she reached one out to touch Agria’s shoulder lightly. The girl bristled at the touch at first but relaxed into it somewhat, still on edge but willing to listen to whatever Leia had to say.

Some beats of silence passed between them, Agria staring back down at the ground while Leia looked at her face. The wind blew in their direction, mussing up their hair and clothes then stilling immediately afterwards, as if trying to prod someone into speaking.

“I’m sorry.”

“...Huh?” Agria blinked back up at her sad-faced companion, confused.

“Dad told me you scurried out here all depressed looking, and, I don’t know. I should have realized that maybe you’re… Unused to all this.” Leia’s voice faltered near the end, clearly struggling with her word choice about the implied subject.

Agria stared at her blankly, not knowing how to respond, before a smirk formed on her lips and she chuckled. The laugh was equal parts wry and good-natured, appreciative of the gesture but finding Leia’s hesitancy over it a bit amusing. “God, why are _you_ apologizing for _me_ being all mopey and lame?” She looked down again as her smile mostly receded, taking a breath in and shifting her weight between her feet nervously. In her head, she ran through her mental checklist of Healthy Conflict Resolution skills her doctor taught her, trying to keep as much of a level head as possible. “I-I’m the one who’s sorry.” It was barely audible, but Leia could make out the gist of it. “I should have talked to you instead of being all huffy. Especially today.”

There was no vocal response, but Leia moved her hand down to Agria’s wrist and held it gently, coaxing her arms out of their self-constricting position. The warmth of one of her characteristic smiles beaming at Agria was tangible. Without warning, Leia’s free hand was fiddling with Agria’s hair, putting something in it delicately.

“What did you mess up my hair with?” Agria snarked, though not angrily. She touched it gently, not wanting to dislodge it and have it fall. The smooth, slightly damp texture of flower petals made contact with her fingers, the overall shape about as small as the petunias that Leia was holding earlier.

“The rest are on the table now, but I thought this really pink one would look nice on you!”

Agria blushed, her face turning to the same shade of pink. “...You’re a dork.”

“But you love me for that!” Leia retorted exuberantly. She began to walk back towards the inn, tugging on Agria’s hand to make her follow. “Now, there’s still more to set up, so let’s get to work!”

Agria snorted, astonished by Leia’s ever-faithful dedication to being busy. As they were about to reach the entrance to the inn, though, Leia paused for a second and lowered her voice to a whisper. “If you need more time to yourself, though, let me know, okay?”

“All right,” Agria grumbled. She still wasn’t entirely used to the idea of bringing her feelings up unprompted like she was being asked to. “By the way…”

Leia’s hand, which had been hovering towards the doorknob, stopped in midair. She faced the girl behind her, an expectant and worried look wrinkling her features.

“...Congratulations on becoming accepted as a journalist and all that.”

The bright girl’s frown turned back into a delighted smile, a giggle coming from her that to Agria sounded as melodious as a wind chime. “Thank you, Agria!”

As they entered back into the inn, Leia waving cheerfully at her mom who was coming in from another room, there was a new happy bounce in Leia’s step that was unmissable. Agria laughed silently to herself upon noticing; she had probably been waiting for those words all day. _She really is a dork._ But she was right after all. She did love her for that.

**Author's Note:**

> I googled if petunias had another meaning besides resentment because I didn't want to make something super angsty, and apparently they also have a meaning of hope or trusting someone deeply. So there's that.
> 
> If you liked my work please drop a kudos/comment, and feel free to follow me on here or on [Twitter](https://twitter.com/iya_teiva)!


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